Construction began in the early 1970s with an intended completion in 1975. However, delays pushed the opening by two years to 1977. The mall officially opened as Markham Place (proposed as Markham Marketplace), and was jointly developed by
Trizec Properties. The mall was anchored by a
Miracle Mart supermarket and a
Sears Canada department store. The Sears store was opened as a full-line department store, featuring an auto centre, cafeteria, hair salon, and a travel centre. In 1986, Markham Place was sold to
Bramalea (company). It is notable to note that
Trizec Properties held majority stake in Bramalea during this time period. In 1995, Bramalea filed for bankruptcy and subsequently liquidated their remaining assets including Markham Place. It was around this time that the mall's name changed from Markham Place to The Shops on Steeles and 404. Following their bankruptcy in 1992, the
Miracle Mart anchor was succeeded by
Food Basics. In the early 2000s, Sears sold off their stake in the mall. In 2004,
Sears Canada announced that they would exit the automotive industry. As a result, the auto centre in the Sears was converted to a Active Green + Ross. The Sears location was converted into a Sears Home store with a newly added facade (selling furniture and appliances; upper level as an outlet centre) and in recent years as a Sears Outlet Store. The location closed in April of 2017 in an effort to shutter unprofitable stores. (Sears Canada filed for bankruptcy in 2018). Bobby's Liquidation Outlet occupied the anchor tenant space vacated by Sears. A liquidation outlet called Closeout King was located within the anchor building as well, but was removed after five months of non-payment. In January 2019 Bobby's Outlet closed (moved to
Promenade Mall in Vaughan) with mall owners planning to re-develop the space. In recent years, Wycliffe Property Management operated the mall until 2023. As of 2025, the lower floor of the former Sears space is now occupied by a flea market. The upper level tenant of the former Sears is now a liquidation outlet centre called Krazy Dealz. ==Aborted redevelopment==